Signaling device



A. T. PALMER.

SIGNALING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB, I6, 1920.

1,888,869. Y Patented Aug 23, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. T. PALMER.

SlGNALlNG DEVICE.

APPLICATION msn FEB. 16. 1920.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENT OFFICE.

'ALFRED T. PALMER, OF MEDFORD,

MASSACHUSETTS.

SIGNALING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

Application led February 16, 1920. Serial No. 359,211.

Y T all w wm t may concern I shaft being journaled in base-plate 7 Be it known that I, ALFRED T. FALiuER, a

.y citizen of the United States, residing at Medford, in

the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Signaling Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signaling devices such as may be used in automatic telephone systems, and has for its principal object the housing of the calling mechanism within the base of a standard telephone desk-set with practically no alteration of the form of such base. It is limited in its scope and is especially designed for small systems, such as may be installed in an office building or a department store. The principal difliculty in housing the calling mechanism within the base is to provide a means for operating said mechanism from the outside of said base without furnishing openings or slots through which dust yand dirt may accumulate inside the base and eventually clog the proper working of the device.

In the drawings that accompany and form part of this specification,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a standard telephone desk-set equipped with my device, parts being broken away for clearness.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial outside view, enlarged, of the base and pedestal, taken at right angles to Fig. 1. y

Fig. 4 is an under plan section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The calling mechanism shown comprises an impulse-wheel 1 whose teeth 2 may intermittently close the switch 3 and thus close the circuit to some distant poin as X, through wires W and Y and battery Z. Wheel 1 is fast with a pinion 4 and a smal gear 5, all being mounted on a shaft 6, said and top-plate 8.

In mesh with pinion 4 is a large gear 9, held against rotation in one direction by a pawl 10 loosely mounted on another shaft 11 and controlled by a spring 12. Small gear 5 is in mesh with another pinion 13 on another shaft 14, and, fast with pinion 13 is a governor 15 on the saine shaft. Large gear 9 is loose on its shaft 16 and may be rotated in one direction by an arm 17, through its paw 18, until said pawl brings up against shaft for mounting on 14, said shaft forming a fixed stop for the calling mechanism.

Arm 17 is fast on shaft 16, said shaft being vertically disposed and being journaled in plates 7 and 8. A main-spring 21 tends to hold pawl18 against shaft 14 and any operation of arm 17 must move pawl 18 away from shaft 14 and against the action of spring 21.

At the unoer end of shaft 16 I make fast a bevel pinion 22 in mesh with a bevel gear 23, the latter being fast on a horizontally disposed shaft 24 that is journaled in a hollow boss 25 formed or otherwise fast on topplate 8.

The transmitter T, receiver R, receiverhook II, receiver-switch S, pedestal P and base B are positioned and formed in a usual manner, except that pedestal P is adapted boss 25 and is perforated or cut away at 26 (Fig. 3) to permit the projection therethrough of shaft 24. On the exterior end of shaft 24 I make fast a callinglever 27 having a handle 28 and a stop-lug 29.

Loose on the projecting end of shaft 24 is a movable stop-lever 30 having a handle 31 and an arrow 32, the latter being adapted to alternatively engage any one of a series of notches 33 in a numbered quadrant 34.

A series of posts 35 may serve for uniting plates 7 and 8 by means of screws 36.

The operation of my device is as follows tto call a number, as 18, the handle 31 of stop-lever 30 is pressed until the elasticity of the lever permits arrow 32 to disengage the neutral notch Q, (Fig. 3), and then stoplever 30 is moved until arrow 32 is in register with the notch 33 that is opposite the figure 18 on quadrant 34. When handle 31 is released, the elasticity of the bar of lever 30 causes arrow 32 to engage the selected notch and stop-lever 30 is in position to act l as a stop for calling-lever 27. Next, callinglever 27 is swung until its lug 29 impinges against stop-lever 30 and is then released. This swing causes rotation of shaft l24 and, through it, shaft 16 and the arm 17, whose pawl 18 slips over the teeth of gear 9 without rotating the gear. As illustrated, pawl 18 will slip over eighteen teeth of gear 9, and the tension of main-spring 21 is increased by this rotation. When handle 28 is released, main-spring 21 automatically causes the rerotation of the above swung parts, excepting l stop-lever 30, and also causes a rotation of eighteen teeth of gear 9 until pawl 18 again engages shaft 14 to stop all re-rotation. As gear 9 revolves, it actuates star-wheel 1 to close switch 3 eighteen times, thus sending eighteen distinct impulses over the circuit to point X. To insure this distinctness, the.gov

ernor 15 is actuated during the re-rotation,

thus causing a retardation of the movement, which is in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2.

It may be noticed that the spring-member vof switch 3 will prevent rotation of impulsewheel 1 in one direction, but, by reason of the fact that the rotations of gear 9 are continuous, the teeth 2 will not always register exactly with this spring-member and, consequently, gear 9 may have a slight retrograde motion under the influence of pawl 18 when it is being set and, in some instances, prevent pawl 18 from slipping over the required number of teeth. This the pawl 10, which absolutely prevents any retrograde movement of gear 9.

A canopy 37 and a felt covering 38 may be employed to inclose and cover the mechanism.

I do not limit myself to the precise form illustrated, except within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a signaling device, a hollow base for al telephone desk-set; calling mechanism mounted within said base; manually-operative means positioned exteriorly with relation to said base; a vertically disposed shaft connected with said mechanism; a horizontally disposed shaft connected with said means; and means for operatively connecting said shafts.

2. In a signaling device, a hollow base;

Ymeans and adapted to tendency is corrected bycallingmechanism mounted within said base; means for mounting a pedestal on said base; a vertically-disposed shaft connected with said mechanism and adapted for rotation; a horizontally-disposed shaft j ournaled in said rotate said verticallydisposed shaft; and manual means for rotating said horizontally-disposed shaft.

3. In a signalingY device, a hollow base; calling mechanism mounted within said base; a vertically disposed shaftl rotatably mounted within lsaid base and connected with said mechanism; a horizontally disposedVV second rotatable shaft; Ya Ycalling-lever eXteriorly mounted with respect to said base, and fast on said second shaft; manual'means for selectively setting said lever; automatic means for causing the return of said lever; and means whereby said automatic means shall cause the operation of said mechanism.

4. In a signaling device, a hollow base; a horizontally disposed shaft; a pedestal mounted on said base; a rotatable member positioned. eXteriorly with respect to said base and fast on Vsaid shaft; a notched, circular arm mounted against said pedestal and concentric with said shaft; a movable stop; means on said stop for alternatively engaging the notches on saidarm; means for causing said stop to limit the rotation of said member in one direction; automatic means'for causing the rotation of said member'in the oppositedirection; and a fixed stop for limiting said rotation in the opposite direction; in combination with calling mechanism mounted within said base; and means whereby said automatic means shall operate said mechamsm.

ALFRED T. PALMER. 

